1. ADVISORY GROUPS ACROSS
LARGE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
Delaney-Thinkwell
Alumni Forum Webinar

2. Overview
• Getting Started (5 min.)
• Part 1: Opportunities and Challenges (10 min.)
– Questions / Answers / Discussions
• Part 2: Approaches for Management (10 min.)
– Questions / Answers / Discussions
• Part 3: Technical Solutions (10 min.)
• Lessons from the Field (25 min.)

3. Panel Introduction
• Raquel Miles • Richard Delaney
Primary Health Care Developer President and Principal
Northern Health Authority Collaborative Decision-Making
British Columbia Delaney & Associates Inc
• Sharon Marmion • Marko Pajalic
Consumer & Family Coordinator On-line Engagement Specialist
Tertiary Mental Health & Addiction Delaney & Associates Inc
Vancouver Coastal Health
• LeannMeronek
Director of Advisory Council Relations
Alberta Health Services

4. Our Discussion Today
• What are Advisory Groups?
• Purpose of Advisory Groups
• Why invest in Advisory Groups?
• What kind of size of group should you create?
• Frequency of meetings?
• How to align expectations and manage relationships.
• How would you bring that group together, given a
large geographic area?
• How to make group function well in large geographic
areas?

5. Part 1
Opportunities and Challenges

6. Advisory Groups Include:
• Majority public, can include staff:
– Community Advisory Groups
– Ad hoc Committees
– Working Groups
– Steering Committee
– Task Team
– Community Panel
– Study Circle

7. Purpose of Advisory Boards
• Provide input into facility management, policies,
programs, documents and special projects
• Provide on-going feedback regarding
implementation of a service plan
• Provide two-way communication between
community members and service providers – to give
a voice to those we are meant to serve
• Explore ways and support initiatives to improve the
organization’s response to patient and family needs

8. Survey Findings
• All respondents have advisory group experience
• 82% of respondents currently use advisory groups
• Advisory group required by law or policy 29%
• Purpose:
– On-going 71%
– Specific decision 53%
– Ad hoc 29%

9. Major Opportunities – Finding Solutions
• Improve service delivery
• Distribution of services
• Improve community capacity
• Improve engagement capacity
• Strengthen relationships and partnerships between
stakeholders
• Enable a more inclusive engagement process
• Enable a more diversified engagement process
• Implement innovative engagement tools and
techniques

10. Major Challenges
• Maintaining critical mass – sustainment
• Recruitment of new members
• Representation of community interests
• Accessibility: technology shortfalls / bringing
people together
• Fostering a sense of “connectedness” /
“community” without in-person connection
(across the community, city, region, province)

11. Barriers / Challenges
• Operations • Membership
• Perception of risk • Recruitments
• Inadequate TORs • Participation Rates
• No Champion • Demographics
• Autonomy • Community
• Lack of Budget/Resources Connectedness
• Distances • Working / Networking
• Timings Between Meetings
• Remoteness
• Urban / Rural Split
• Time Commitment

12. Opportunities and Challenges
Questions / Discussion
Hands Up-Open Mic

13. Part 2
Approaches for Management

14. Important Considerations
• Governance • Operations
• Getting the ToRs Right • Building Capacity
• Build an Energy • Create a Predictable
Management Plan Meeting Cycle
• Clarifying Expectations • Dialogue &
• Links to Organization Collaboration
• Annual Report and
Work Plan

15. Getting the ToRs Right
• Links to Strategic Priorities / Organization
• Inclusion in the Annual Report / Work Plan
• Mission / Scope
• Recruitment / Membership / Succession
• Operations / Meeting Cycle
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Work Plan
• Documentation

16. Build an Energy Management Plan
TOTA
Member Mary Fred Joe Jess Ralph Kim
L
Patient Safety 0 20 20 40 40 0 120
Visiting Hours 14 20 8 10 0 60 112
Out Patient 26 0 8 10 0 0 44
Volunteerism 8 20 8 8 0 0 48
Quiet Hours 12 0 16 8 20 0 56
TOTAL 60 60 60 78 60 60 378

17. Build Capacity Takes Time

18. Create a Predictable Meeting Cycle
Annual Meeting Cycle
Question Calls
RSVPs
Agenda and Info Kit
Comments in Preliminary Agenda
Preliminary Agenda
Publish Minutes
Return Comments on Draft Minutes
Draft Minutes are Circulated
Group Work

19. Choosing the Right Tools

20. Approaches for Management
Questions / Discussion
Hands Up-Open Mic

21. Part 3
Technical Solutions

22. Online Engagement
Opportunities Challenges
• Cost & time effective • Accessibility
• Sustainable • Skills
• Convenient • Infrastructure
• Archived • Cost
• Flexible • Not as personable
• Potentially awkward
and not as personable
• Time difference

23. Suggestions
• Survey to understand preferences
• Start with face-to-face rapport - move into online over time
• Experiment with a couple of tools
• Make it personable
• Partner with community organizations or libraries for skill
building
• Incorporate capacity building and education
• Look to local partners for technical support
• Offer different channels of participation and/or
communication
• Create a centralized hub to compile activity feeds and info

24. Factors to Consider
• Different skills levels
• Accessibility
• Infrastructure
• Security

25. Use the Right Tool
Objective Tools
Find preferences Online survey
Schedule meetings Doodle, Google Calendar, Sharepoint, Zoho
Host a meeting • Audio video: GoToMeeting (<25), Group Skype (<10), Google
Hangout (<9), Second Life
• Text based (lower bandwith): Discussion forums (Google,
Yahoo Groups etc.), Facebook Group, live chat (CampFire),
Twitter chat
Manage/Track Basecamp, Zoho Project, SharePoint
Project and Tasks
Stay Informed Blog, website, email newsletter, Scribd or SlideShare, SMS
Form a community Ning, Facebook Group, Second Life (???)

26. Best practices
• Create a graphic of where participants are located
• Provide an agenda
• Create a slide with participant’s picture, location and bio
• Acknowledge distance and remoteness
• Call on each participant by name to provide input
• Create ground rules (no multi-tasking, speaker must start
with their name)
• Provide focus by tracking live points raised (whiteboard
feature)
• Create a central learning/knowledge hub for participants
• Evaluate

27. Part 4
Lessons from the Field
Member Roundtable-Open Mic
• Let’s hear from some Committee members
• Please express your experience / wisdom
• Will go through a number of questions
• Richard will ask the question
• “Raise your hand” to respond
• Marko will cue you

28. Open Mic Questions
1. What engagement tools work best for you?
2. What have you found to be the “best” size in terms of
number of members?
3. What is the best number of meetings per year?
4. How do you recruit members?
5. How have you been able to ensure appropriate
representation?
6. How have you selected / secured a senior champion with
your organization?
7. How does the advisory group influence decisions?